AL East Round Up: Drama Edition

May 31, 2014; Houston, TX, USA; Baltimore Orioles left fielder

Nelson Cruz

(23) receives a high-five from third baseman

Manny Machado

(13) after hitting a home run during the seventh inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Richardson-USA TODAY Sports

Baltimore Orioles

The Orioles are maintaining some sort of shot at first place and landing themselves in the post season for the second year in a row. Well, sort of. They are playing .500 ball. While this might be OK (not great, but OK) for now, just OK is not going to get them into the playoffs. Other than Nelson Cruz leading the league in homeruns (20) and RBI (53) the Orioles are not getting much from their lineup.

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Their pitching is much worse.

Chris Tillman

and

Wei-Yin Chen

each have 5 wins and then it drops off dramatically.

Ubaldo Jimenez

has won just twice (lost 6 times!). No Orioles starter has an ERA under 4!

I could go on and on about the struggles of the Baltimore Orioles. But, today, I am going to focus on some positive. The Orioles took part in MLB annual Civil Rights game against the Houston Astros. This was more than just a game to honour civil rights in baseball and the world beyond. As Richard Justice (MLB.com) tells us, it was a celebration and discussions of not only the contributions of Jackie Robinson, but also race in America. MLB awarded its Beacon Award to Maya Angelou, Motown legend Berry Gordy and football great, Jim Brown.

The ‘festivities’ began with a round table discussion featuring Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson! Man, it would have been an amazing experience to be fortunate enough to attend that! Here is the inspiring Opening Video from the ceremony:

Check out Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson speaking about MLB Commissioner Bud Selig:

Former Toronto Blue Jay, Dave Winfield speaks about minorities in baseball:

Here is what Maya Angelou had to say about her award. It is especially poignant as these are some of the last words she left this world with. Angelou passed away on May 28, 2014.

Say what you want about Bud Selig’s reign over Major League Baseball, but we can’t deny his efforts toward equality.

Baltimore Orioles

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